Bike rider to take on London to Paris ride for British Legion

A bike rider is gearing up for a mammoth 460km cycle to Paris to raise money for the Royal British Legion.

Clyde Muir, of Winchmore Hill, will be one of hundreds cycling the ‘pedal to Paris’ bike ride on Thursday, September 4.

The gruelling hike will finish at the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, September 7, and Mr Muir is showing his support for the Armed Forces.

He said: “My late father served in the merchant navy on radio and wireless during the Second World War. He lost his brother who was 20 years old when he was part of a Lancaster crew that was shot down over Belgium on their first sortie.

“My partner Claire lost her father to cancer four years ago but his career was spent flying reconnaissance aircraft for the RAF and he served in The Falklands, Iraq and Kosovo.”

Mr Muir, otherwise known as ‘Clydie’, will be taking on his first long distance bike ride and is aiming to raise more than £2,000, having already raised £1,500.

Charles Byrne, director of fundraising at the Legion, said: “We are very grateful to Clydie and hundreds of others like him for taking on the Pedal to Paris challenge. It really is an incredible experience and we wish him all the best for the ride.

“Apart from the training that goes into preparing for the event, the fundraising that he is undertaking on behalf of The Royal British Legion will make a real difference to the lives of those that we support.

“We spend £1.4 million every week in direct support - that's £73 million each year, answering more than 165,000 calls for help. Clydie's efforts will help us considerably in continuing to provide the social, emotional and financial care to the Armed Forces community.”